


Rakkaus

by fancyblood



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-10-04 20:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10289636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancyblood/pseuds/fancyblood
Summary: Sage Potter was sure of three things; one, she wants to be a healer but bloody Charms class was going to kill her; two, she has the best friends in the whole world; and three, when it comes to family, blood isn't everything. Story 1 of 3.





	1. Chapter 1

A fine mist settled over Hogsmeade, blurring the outlines of quaint cottages lining the street. Suddenly, a distinct crack sounded, and the outline of a man appeared suddenly at the first line of trees surrounding the neighborhood. The man, very tall and incredibly dashing, shivered in the cold. Turning the collar of his cloak up to cover his ears, he shoved his hands in his pocket and walked briskly down the path of the first cottage and entered, stopping briefly to wipe his feet on the welcome mat.

It was significantly brighter inside the house and he sighed in relief as the warmth from the roaring fire soaked through to his bones. He could hear the tinny sound of the radio and the clanging of pots as his wife cooked. He shrugged off the cloak, pausing to place it on the rack beside the door. His young wife poked her head into the sitting as he kicked off his shoes.

“Dinner should be ready in a moment, love,” she smiled at him before disappearing through the doorway. He smiled and sniffed appreciatively; it smelled like beef stew, his favorite. He followed the smell into their kitchen, taking a moment to realize his daughter wasn’t in the high chair like usual.

“And where’s Sage?” He asked, walking up behind his wife and wrapping his arms around her waist as she cooked.

“The Potters have her, Euphemia insisted she stay for the night. James just adores her and Euphemia believes we need some time to ourselves, now that Sage is old enough.”

“She is quite right,” He murmured, burying his face into his wife’s neck and planted a little kiss on her shoulder as she stirred the pot with a wave of her wand.

“Rowan! Not before dinner!” His wife scolded, setting her wand down and turning into his embrace. Despite her words, she leaned into him, standing on her tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. Rowan went to deepen it, but she pulled back, giggling.

“Ah, Til!” He scolded as she pushed him away, laughing loudly now. She tsked and turned around once more to examine the stew.

“Go wash up, dinner is almost ready.” He groaned, smiling nonetheless, and left the room. Just as he reached the side hallway, there was a knock at the door. “Get that, will you, love?” He grunted in response and headed to the front door.

Rowan opened the door to reveal two men in dark cloaks, hoods pulled low over their faces. Before he could get a word out or reach for his wand left thoughtlessly in his cloak pocket, the man to the left raised his wand. In a second, a green light exploded from the tip and hit Rowan straight in the chest. He fell to the ground bonelessly, eyes wide and unseeing.

The two men stepped over the lifeless body, one closing the door swiftly. Tilia rushed into the living room, stopping in her tracks as she eyed the men. Her eyes drifted downward to see her husband lying there and she let out a strangled gasp. The man who killed Rowan laughed cruelly at her fright.

“The Dark Lord sends his regards.” He spoke, raising his wand. Before she managed a single syllable, a second green light shot out of the wand and she fell to the ground. The men turned on their heels swiftly and left the cottage, shutting the door on two young lives.

 

* * *

 

Euphemia Potter sighed as she bent down to grab her goddaughter. Sage began to fuss incessantly the night before, right after dinner. At first, Euphemia thought nothing of it, assuming the child’s dinner wasn’t sitting right. But not even a half-hour later, her fussing turned into constant crying for no apparent reason. Euphemia tried to engage her with toys, a warm bottle, and a few diaper changes but nothing would calm the little girl.

“What is it, my love? Why are you so upset?” Euphemia murmured to the toddler, but the girl just buried her face in her godmother’s shoulder and took shuddering breaths. James, Euphemia’s son, looked up curiously from his pile of blocks. Sage’s behavior was most unusual; Euphemia couldn’t think of a time when the girl was so inconsolable. Sage was a strangely quiet child, usually observing people with a small smile on her face.

James, on the other hand, was rambunctious from the start, always getting into trouble with Sage not far behind. The two made a darling pair of opposites; the mothers were overjoyed that their children got along so well. Euphemia met Tilia and Rowen when they moved to the village as newlyweds. Euphemia and Fleamont, her husband, were an older couple and had long since given up on the idea of children and welcomed the couple with open arms. Then James, their little miracle, came into the picture and Sage followed soon after. Rowen, after working tirelessly in the Auror department, received a promotion and the couple moved to a larger house in Hogsmeade. Though that didn’t stop Euphemia and Tilia from having brunch a couple of times a week, discussing their plans for their children to be raised side-by-side over tea.

A crash brought Euphemia’s attention back to her son as he squealed. James, believing the block tower had gotten far too big, sent it tumbling down with a push. Sage jumped and started wailing again, keeping her face buried in Euphemia’s shoulder.

“Oh James, you frightened her!” The older woman chastised, patting Sage’s back reassuringly. She looked at the clock on the wall, “Where’s your father? He should have been back by now.”

Euphemia’s nerves were wearing thin. Maybe two toddlers would have been a cinch at one time, but she was far too old and far too tired now. It was nearly three in the afternoon, four and half hours since Tilia should have arrived for brunch and three since Fleamont left to check up on her. The knot of anxiety grew in Euphemia’s stomach until it was almost unbearable; something was horribly wrong. She started swaying in time with the fall of her hand in effort to calm the child and herself.

The front door opened and Euphemia whirled around, the knot unclenching for a moment before she saw the grim expression on her husband’s face. Before she could say a word, Albus Dumbledore followed Fleamont into the sitting room along with a gaunt faced Ministry official. Euphemia’s breath caught in her throat as she looked from one face to the next.

“What is it?” She gasped when she could find her voice. Fleamont shook his head and led her to the couch, Sage still tucked in her arms, then scooped up his son and sat next to her. Dumbledore took a seat in the chair catty-corner and leaned with his elbows on his knees. The Ministry worker stayed standing by the front door.

“There has been,” Dumbledore paused, searching for the right word, “a tragedy.” He paused again, looking imploringly at the couple. “Maybe you should tell her, Fleamont.”

“Someone, please, just get on with it,” Euphemia pleaded, the knot rising from her stomach to her throat. Sage, feeling the tension in the room, squirmed and Euphemia placed her on her knee.

Fleamont heaved a great sigh and started. “When I got to the house, the door was wide open. Dumbledore was just arriving. We went inside, and—” For just a moment, Fleamont’s words failed him. And then, with a shuddering breath, “Honey, Tilia and Rowen, they’re dead.”

“Murdered.” Dumbledore corrected. Euphemia’s insides went cold and she stared blankly at Dumbledore. She slowly turned to face her husband, who gave a sad nod.

“But, who?” She implored, turning back to Dumbledore.

“I have a vague idea but no facts of yet, and I’d rather share facts than hunches. I know this is a shock but we need to figure out what to do with Sage.” He answered.

“Well she’s staying with us, of course. We’re her godparents!” Euphemia said at once.

The slightest flick of a smile fluttered across Dumbledore’s face. “Of course,” He said. Euphemia looked down at Sage, who looked up at her with uncertain eyes. She gave a small, watery smile and Sage looked towards James, who instantly reached for her.

“Well, I’m off to assist with the investigation. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need anything,” Dumbledore said, standing quickly. Fleamont thanked him as Euphemia watched her two children. Strangely, a sense of peace washed over her as she looked at their linked hands. She knew there were difficult times to come but at least Sage would have a loving family to look after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first story posted on AO3 so hopefully, I did everything right. It's also posted on FF.net (u/n fancy blood) and Mibba (u/n hey sailor) under the same name. Reviews would be greatly appreciated; I haven't written in a long, long time so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and reviews/constructive criticism would help tremendously. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A crowd of strangely dressed people, both adults and small children in various colored robes, milled around a platform, anxiously waiting for a train to arrive. Among the crowd, a small girl with a plait of frizzy chestnut hair and curious blue eyes stood on her tip-toes, swinging the hand that was tethered to her father’s.

“What time is it?” She asked in a squeaky voice. Her parents glanced at each other with amusement.

“About two minutes since the last answer,” her father answered, not bothering to look at his pocket watch again.

Suddenly, with a billow of smoke, the scarlet train rounded the corner and pulled up to the platform. The girl squealed as the doors of the train opened and students poured out. Training her eyes on the crowd, she finally spotted a mess of black hair and slid her hand out of her father’s grip. Before he had a chance to react, the little girl sped off, bounding toward her brother. Her parents called after her but she didn’t stop until she barreled straight into James.

“Jamie!” She shrieked, wrapping her arms around his middle. He chuckled and squeezed until she had her fill and stepped back.

“I missed you too, Sagey,” he said, ruffling her already disheveled hair. She swatted his hand away, grinning.

“You’ve been away for _so long_. Mum and dad are this way-oh!” She squeaked in surprise once she noticed the three boys clustered around James. He turned and shared an amused smile with the closest before starting introductions.

“Sage, these are my mates; Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Guys, this is my baby sister.” Her inquisitive gaze hardened as she turned back to her brother.

“I am _not_ a baby,” she pouted, face turning red as her arms crossed over her chest.

“There you are,” her mother’s exasperated voice came from behind her. “How many times do I have to tell you not to run off?”

“Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll make sure she’s safe.” James said, stepping forward to give his parents hugs. Sage stood to one side as James introduced his friends, starting hard at the one called Sirius. The older boy noticed her stare and raised an eyebrow.

“Yes?” He questioned as her fading blush roared back to life at being caught.

“Your hair is really shiny,” She mumbled, looking down at her shuffling feet as the group laughed. She glanced up to see Sirius throw a wink her way, causing butterflies to erupt in her stomach. She stuck her tongue out at him and moved to stand by her father, placing her tiny hand in his and looking around at the crowd.

Everywhere, parents embraced their children, friends said goodbyes and promised to owl over the summer. Everyone seemed happy for the summer break to start but Sage Potter couldn’t help but yearn for holidays to end. Next September, it would be her turn at Hogwarts, the best school for witchcraft and wizardry in the world. She had already heard so much from James, who, despite being busy, made sure to owl her every week. She heard of the moving portraits; of the tricky staircases looking to trap people with their vanishing steps; of the pearly ghosts; and of course, of Peeves, the mischievous poltergeist. Every letter made her miss her brother more and more and she was so incredibly excited to join him in his shenanigans. 

Her thoughts were disrupted by the arrival of Remus’ and Peter’s parents. After a few words to her parents, they agreed to send their sons to the Potter Estate for a week in the summer and left with their children. Finally, it was just the Potters and Sirius.

“Do you see your parents, Sirius?” Mrs. Potter asked, looking at the boy. His ears turned slightly pink as he shuffled on his feet.

“No ma’am, not yet. They’ll be here in a moment, I’m sure. I can manage until then.” Sirius said with a false air of dignity and nonchalant. Mrs. Potter narrowed her eyes and Sage knew that expression meant trouble. Sage looked from her mother to Sirius to James, who met her glance and shook his head slightly. Sage took that as a warning to keep her gob shut or things would get worse.

“Nonsense, we’ll wait with you. After all, we have to speak about this summer.” Mr. Potter said firmly, referring to the plans they already made with the other boys. Minutes ticked by filled with Mrs. Potter asking the boys about Hogwarts and their responses and Sage became restless. She rocked back and forth on her heels, looking for Sirius’ parents. _Why aren’t they here yet? Didn’t they miss their son?_

Finally, after the platform was mostly empty, Sirius caught sight of something and immediately went silent, shoulders straightening and chin high. Sage peered around her father’s robes to see a dignified, strict-looking woman walking toward the group. As the woman grew closer, Mr. Potter’s hand squeezed Sage’s for just a moment and Sage was immediately put on edge. Her parents had gone rigid and James came to stand beside her, taking her other hand gently.

“Hello, Mother,” Sirius spoke quietly. The woman looked at the family of four and smiled coldly.

“Who are your friends, Sirius?” Sirius’ mother looked at each of the Potters in turn. As her eyes landed on Sage, she felt a shiver start at her feet. James let go of her hand, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him.

“Ah, you must be Mrs. Black. Fleamont Potter, ma’am,” Mr. Potter said, stepping forward with his hand outstretched. She placed her bony fingers into his grasp and he kissed her knuckles, as was the polite greeting of the time. “This is my wife, Euphemia and our children, James and Sage. It seems as if our boys have become very good friends. In fact, we were just talking about having Sirius over for the last week of holidays. We would be happy to see him off to Hogwarts, of course.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Black said with a strange inflection. She looked to her son, who stared defiantly, face impassive. “We shall see. Lovely meeting you but we must be off. Come, Sirius.” With that, she turned, beckoning her son forward. Sirius sighed and grabbed the handle of his trunk before turning to James and Sage.

“Well, see ya.” He gave a tight smile.

“Owl me. We’ll make sure you get to come.” James said, extending his arm to pat his friend on the shoulder.

“It’ll be the best summer ever!” Sage said brightly. Sirius turned his eyes to her and gave her a real, albeit small, smile. As she watched Sirius struggle to catch up to his mother, she turned to James. “I don’t like her.”

“I don’t either,” James sighed, staring after his friend. He turned to his sister and removed his arm from her shoulders. “I’m starving.”

“Well, we’ll be off then.” Mrs. Potter said, smiling brightly. She grabbed James around the neck, placing a loving kiss on the top of his head. As the family walked forward, Sage caught one last glance at Sirius. He seemed to be staring longingly at the group. She smiled and waved. He returned the gesture before disappearing through the barrier.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than the other ones, sorry about that. But thanks so much for the kudos!

A child sat in a dark coat closet, back against the wall and chest heaving. Tears streamed down her face as her head laid on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs. She cried so silently that nobody would notice unless they saw her shoulders shaking. Though, there was nobody around; that’s why she chose this place. Sage Potter shared her smiles and laughs freely, but tears were for her and her alone. 

Suddenly the door to the closet swung open and she sat up quickly, hitting her head on the wall. She grimaced and rubbed at the spot, squinting at the figure haloed in light from the hallway.

“Sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom,” The figure hesitated. “Are you okay?” It was Remus, one of her brother’s friends who were staying the last week of summer break at her house. 

“Down the hall a little bit, to the left.” She said, looking down and letting her curls cover her face. There was a shuffling noise and out of her peripheral, she saw Remus sit cross-legged against the opposite wall.

“What’s wrong?” He asked again. She glanced at his face, studying the large scrape across his cheek. Remus said he got it by tripping over his front step at home, a product of his clumsiness like the rest of the scars that marred his skin. Sage thought it strange; for a boy who claims to be so clumsy, he was surprisingly graceful. He didn’t even trip over the bit of loose carpet in James’ doorway, which seemed to grab everyone’s foot. Remus stared back before speaking softly again, “Sage?”  
  
Sage let out a huff. “I’m nervous about Hogwarts,” She admitted, looking at her knees again. “What if I don’t make friends? What if I fail all my classes? What if they put me in stinking Slytherin?”

Remus snorted, looking amused. “One, you’re the friendliest person I’ve ever met. It took you two hours to start a conversation, a _real_ conversation, with Peter. It took us two weeks before he said anything other than ‘good morning’ or ‘good night’. You won’t have any trouble making friends. Even if it’s difficult at first, you have us,” Remus gave her a wink that brought a small smile to her face. “Two, you’re smart. If you work hard, you won’t have any trouble in your classes. They start off with easy stuff anyway. Three, well, it would be awful in Slytherin but points one and two mean you’ll be just fine anywhere. Anyway, you’re too much like James to be in Slytherin.” Her small smile slowly spread into a grin. “We’re going to the creek. Wanna see how long it takes before someone falls in?” 

“A galleon says it’s Sirius.” She said, smirking.Remus stood up and offered her a hand.

“You’re on.”

* * *

The last week of summer break flew by in a whirl of games, pranks, and laughter. Once Sage proved to the three visitors that she could keep up with the boys, they welcomed her enthusiastically into whatever antics they cooked up. Soon, it was the First of September and they would be arriving at the Hogwarts castle just after nightfall.

The journey to King’s Cross was relatively uneventful, as all five children were anxious to leave Mrs. Potter’s watchful eye. Since her conversation with Remus, Sage did her best to keep her worries in the back of her mind. Staring at the huge scarlet train, those worries came creeping up her spine and settled just under the base of her neck. Her mother, sensing the tension radiating from her youngest child, kneaded the tight muscles with one skilled hand. 

“You’ll be great, darling,” Euphemia reassured as Sage turned her attention to her mother. “Just, don’t get into too much trouble, yeah?”

“Don’t worry, Mum,” James said. “I’ll be with her every step of the way.”  


Euphemia chuckled, “Aye, that’s what I’m afraid of.” She swept her son into a hug before turning back to Sage. “Have fun, love. Hogwarts is the most fantastic place.” She embraced Sage with a kiss on the cheek and a wink. Sage nodded, uncharacteristically silent with nerves, and hugged each of her parents in turn. 

Sirius threw his arm around Sage’s shoulder and urged her forward. “C’mon Sagey, let’s find a compartment before they’re all full.” Sage turned to glare at the boy before shoving him off.

“Don’t call me Sagey.” She grumbled for the hundredth time that week. Sirius barked out a laugh and bounded forward with his trunk, the other four in tow. The children wrestled their trunks on board and managed to find an empty compartment toward the middle of the train. James extracted a deck of cards from his trunk and began dealing a game of Exploding Snap.

“Wanna play, Sage?” James asked as he dealt the other three boys in.

Sage shrugged, “No thanks, not in the mood.” She stared out the window, watching the students rush forth with the blow of the final whistle. Soon, the train began moving and she heaved a huge sigh of nerves.

“Oy,” Sage looked from the window to Peter, who was sitting across from her and holding out a book. “My mum gave me this last year. If you want a distraction, it’s a good story.” 

“Thanks,” Sage said, taking the book. She ran a hand over the worn cover. “ _The Fellowship of the Ring_?” 

Peter shrugged, “It’s a muggle book. My mum bought it when she was young. It’s good, you should try it.”

“Thanks, Pete. That’s very kind of you.” Sage said, looking up at him with a brilliant smile. Peter’s cheeks flushed pink as he nodded and rejoined the card game. Sage leaned back and opened the book, still smiling.

“ _When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton…”_


End file.
